Sharing Our Work
This year, several of our lab members had exciting opportunities to travel and present their research at scientific conferences. Join us in congratulating Maggie Straight and Gabi Chebli for sharing their work at the 2025 Marine Microbial Chemical Communication Conference in the Netherlands, and Maria Branch for presenting at this year’s Benthic Ecology Meeting in Mobile, Alabama!
Georgia Tech CRIDC
PhD Candidate, Shreya Kothari has been representing our lab extremly well and won back to back awards at the Georgia Tech Career, Research, Innovation, and Development Conference in both 2024 and 2025. Here, Shreya presented her findings to students and faculty of various departments as well as industry experts. We are so proud of you Shreya!
Scents and Sonics: A Memories of the Ocean Project
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Dr. Kubanek and Benton Jaco recently visited Los Angeles to present as part of the Scents and Sonics project. This project was done collaboratively with Malte Lauder, a musician, and Yosh Han, a perfumer. We worked together to build an exhibit highlighting the cultural history and the habitats of Sapelo Island. Julia and Benton provided molecular structures and NMR spectra for scent molecules from habitats of Sapelo Island; Malte Lauder incorporated these NMR spectra into soundscapes, while Yosh Han created scents reminiscent of the habitats of Sapelo Island.
Celebrating Marisa Cepeda's Graduation
Poster presented by Maggie Straight at the Climate Sustainability Challenges & Opportunities workshop for undergraduates hosted by Spelman College in September and focusing on climate science, solutions, and justice. Well done, Maggie!
Welcome to the Lab!
We are pleased to welcome Maria Branch who is joining our lab while working on her M.S. in Bioinformatics here at Georgia Tech. Maria completed her B.S. at the University of Miami in Marine Sciences and Biochemistry, and will be futhering our investigation into the chemistry of fear while here at Tech.
The Kubanek lab has a history of promoting inclusivity and celebrating diversity; this group exemplifies that practice. Welcome to the Kubanek lab!
Congratulations, Dr. Marisa Cepeda, for publishing your recent paper in Oecologia and for graduating from Georgia Tech with a Ph.D. in Chemistry. You have contributed greatly to the Kubanek lab, and we are excited to see your accomplishment. Best of luck and keep in touch!
Graduation Season
Several members of the Kubanek lab have recently graduated from various graduate programs!
Benton Jaco graduated in the Fall of 2024 with his Masters in Biology with a thesis entitled “Metabolomic Analysis of Predator Urine for Enhancing Oyster Shell Strength and Ecological Implications. Marisa Cepeda graduated from Georgia Tech with her Ph.D. in Chemistry with a thesis entitled “An exploration of chemical cues as mediators of marine predator-prey interactions”. Both studens have truley been an asset to the lab and excellent colleagues. We are sad to them see go, but we are proud to see them move on to the next chapter of their lived. Congratulations to Marisa on her position as a postdoctoral researcher as BASF!
Additionally, our newest postdoctoral researcher, Dr. Henry Adewole, completed his Ph.D. in Chemistry last year at the University of Pretoria and had his official graduation ceremony in early September. Finally, Gretchen Johnson joined our lab immediately after completing her M.S. in Marine Biosciences at the University of Delaware.
These accomplishments are no small matter. A STEM graduate degree represents dedication, hard work, and the rigorous application of keen intellect. We are proud to work alongside scientists such as these four. Congratulations, Benton, Marisa, Henry, and Gretchen. Each of you has committed yourself to academic excellence and the continual pursuit of scientific discovery!
Gretchen Johnson at her M.S. thesis defense.
Marisa Cepeda defending her Ph.D. dissertation.
A Glimpse at the Front Line of COVID-19 Relief Efforts.
Our very own Samantha Mascuch on her efforts to help increase the supply of COVID-19 tests!